The 822-bed Queensgate jail on Linn Street, which has housed low- and medium-security inmates for more than a decade, quietly closed for good Friday. It's the latest victim of budget cuts that also Friday closed two auto-title offices in Green Township and Fairfax, and is prompting the layoffs of hundreds of county workers by the end of the year.

This is the first time a jail has closed in Hamilton County without a new one opening to replace it. The closure has prompted concern about public safety. But there simply is no money to keep it open, according to the sheriff and county officials.

About 4:30 p.m., the last dozen or so inmates, belongings in hand, were led out to black sheriff's office vans and taken to other jail facilities in the county.

Three non-uniformed employees carried boxes and plants to their cars. They hugged. One wiped a tear.

No signs were hung. No announcement was made. Two people hoping to visit inmates found the door locked and the building empty.

Queensgate is one of four county jails. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office also runs the main jail downtown and two treatment jails. The main jail holds 1,240. The Reading Road jail in Mount Auburn holds 148, and Turning Point in Walnut Hills holds 60.

Sheriff Simon Leis has been gradually reducing the inmate population by releasing inmates early from sentences or telling them to come back at a later date to begin serving them. Many inmates are being booked but then immediately released and told to report for their court date.

Most inmates were serving time for misdemeanor crimes such as theft, driving under suspension and similar offenses.

As of Friday morning, there were 70 to 80 inmates remaining in Queensgate. All were moved by 5 p.m. About 87 deputies are being laid off, effective Wednesday – Christmas Eve.

The bad economy forced the county into its worst budget crisis in memory. County commissioners will finalize the budget at a 9:30 a.m. meeting Monday.

Leis was told to cut his budget $12.4 million, or 16.5 percent, next year. For someone who has spent his entire career enforcing public safety, the cuts are difficult.

"This is the most frustrating time I've ever seen in my entire career," he said. "It's a frustrating, dangerous situation. We're going to get to a point where we're not going to be able to provide the necessary services. We're at that point" with corrections.

Though perhaps the most high-profile closure, the jail wasn't the only building shut down Friday. The county also shuttered the Western Hills and Eastern Hills auto-title offices, which are run by Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann's office. The cuts mean those workers are now out of a job, and customers will have to travel to the Forest Park or downtown offices to process their auto titles. Because of the increased volume at those offices, they might also wait longer in line.

The offices being closed are at 5089-B Glencrossing Way and 3370 Red Bank Road.

Hartmann also closed the Clerk of Courts' office that serves the state appeals court and laid off those workers.

In all, 15 Clerk of Courts workers were laid off Friday. Hartmann's office has been asked to cut more than 70 jobs, so more layoffs are likely.

"It's tough on the people we have to say goodbye to," Hartmann said. "It's hard."

Employees will receive severance pay, giving them paychecks through the holidays.